In-person voter turnout has been slow for the state primary on the Island, with few contested races and with many voters already casting ballots early.
Town clerks around the Island said that it had been slow on Tuesday and that they didn’t expect a heavy in-person presence.
Polls are open until 8 pm tonight.
There was some last minute campaigning on Tuesday outside the polls. Tim McMahon, a Bostonian holding a sign in support of state Rep. candidate Thomas Moakley, had been in front of the Edgartown courthouse for several hours since polls opened just after 7 am. “Thomas and I are good college friends. I came to support him,” McMahon said. “[The turnout] seemed a little light. It’s kind of hard to tell.”
“[Reactions have been] very positive, for the folks that recognize the sign,” he said. “There’s a pretty big out-of-town constituency today … folks that know are very positive.”
Julie Fay was also outside the polls in Edgartown supporting candidate Arielle Faria for state Rep. “I think she is a tremendous person. And she is a housing advocate,” Fay told The Times. “I’ve been working with her on the housing bank for the last couple of years.”
“I’ve seen a lot of thumbs up,” Fay said of passerbyers. ”She is somebody well-known on the Island.”
Voter Lynn Ditchfield was also in Edgartown to support Faria. “Arielle … will be a wonderful representative for us. And I just hope that she wins,” Ditchfield said. “And no more bombs.”
The only contested election for Island Democrats will be the race to represent the Vineyard at the State House. Representative Dylan Fernandes has announced he’s not seeking re-election this year, instead running for state Senate representing Plymouth and the Upper Cape.
Running to replace Fernandes, West Tisbury Democrat Arielle Reid Faria is squaring off against Falmouth Democrat Thomas Moakley. MV Times coverage of a candidate forum between the two candidates is available here and a deeper look at both candidates is here.
Also on the Democratic ballot for Islands — and all uncontested in the state primary — Elizabeth Warren is seeking re-election for the U.S. Senate; Bill Keating is seeking re-election for the 9th Congressional District, and state Senator Julian Cyr from Truro is running for re-election. T. George Davis is running unopposed for the Dukes County Clerk of Courts, and Paulo C. DeOliveira is running for the Register of Deeds.
Tristan Israel, Don Leopold, Christine Todd, and Richard Wharton are all running unopposed for the Dukes County Commission.
On the Republican ticket, there is a three-way race to challenge Warren for U.S. Senate. Robert Antonellis, an engineer from Medford; Ian Cain, a Quincy City Councilor; and John Deaton, a former U.S. Marine from Swansea are all running on the Republican ticket.
Christopher Lauzon from Barnstable is again running to unseat Cyr in the state Senate, and Dan Sullivan from Plymouth is running for Congress to unseat Keating.
The general presidential election will be held on Nov. 5.
